Do you have a new co-teaching partner? If so, be sure to talk about these two key questions before the first day of school. 1. How will we introduce ourselves to students? It is important that you introduce yourselves in a way that clearly tells students you are both teachers in the room with equal authority. While your areas of expertise may differ, you are both experts in teaching. 2.What are your pet peeves? Don’t find out the hard way that her pet peeve is allowing students a bathroom pass near the end of class. Take a few moments to talk about these issues before you begin co-teaching so that you can start off on the right foot! For more ideas on co-teaching, check out my blog, my downloadables, my youtube videos and my book, “Co-Teaching that Works.”

Over the summer I had the wonderful opportunity to work with teachers all around the country. One of the things I love about teachers is how willing they are to share ideas. Here’s one I had never seen before (perhaps you haven’t either!) 1. Begin by printing the template, found here. Because you will be reusing it, consider printing it on card stock so that it will last. 2. Stick a 3x3 note on each of the spaces. 3. Download the template for your text. You can find it here. Then type in your customized messages. 4. Place the sticky note covered template in the paper feed of your printer. Make sure that the sticky top is set to feed in first. I am excited to use these with students during the first few weeks of school!